Outcast (Her Royal Harem: Ember) by Catherine Banks – Review by Santana Hicks

Outcast by Catherine Banks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ember has a relatively peaceful life. She lives in the woods by herself in a cabin treating wounded animals, shifters and hybrids. Lately more and more hybrids are being dumped at her door for healing. The city that is close to her cabin hates hybrids so she assumes it’s the townspeople hurting the hybrids.

Recently there have been a few male hybrids that have needed her and Ember gets a taste of what it would be like if she wasn’t alone. She’s used to healing and then saying goodbye when they decide to go back to whatever life they had before they got hurt. These guys seem to want to stick around and Ember does not mind it one bit. Actually, she wants them to stay and be with her.

All her life Ember thought she was just a mere mage but recently she finds out that there is more to her than she thought. Her whole life seems to have been a lie. There’s also someone cursing animals and people to try to take Ember out and only her blood seems to be the cure.

The Hybrid Prince shows up to help Ember and instantly they are drawn to each other. Ember is more and more confused. How can she be interested in 4 men all at once? How will it work out? Who is trying to kill her? Who and what is Ember? So many questions that Ember will have to fight to find the answers too.

I really enjoyed Ember’s character growth. She came from an unloving home believing she deserved to be unloved, never to be mated. It takes her awhile to trust people fully but when she does, she would do anything for them. Ember’s parents kept a lot of secrets and finding out some of them really messed with how Ember identified herself so she had to work hard to find herself all over again. She is strong, caring, genuine and not to mention, a badass.

This book wasn’t as steamy as I thought it was going to be, which is okay with me. It is a reverse harem but they all seem to genuinely care about each other without it being about intimacy all the time that in itself is refreshing. The author wrote a wonderful plot and side stories along the way filled with action and twists and turns to keep you engaged at all times. They also did a great job of making each character their own. Each with their own shifter animal, personality, strengths and weaknesses which made it easier to connect with each one.

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